Trump's first state dinner will be with French President Emmanuel Macron

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 23 January 2018

President Trump is hosting the first official White House state dinner of his presidency in April with French President Emmanuel Macron, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday. While Trump has hosted a number of world leaders, and even a number of high-profile dinners, "none were official state visits with all the trappings, pomp, circumstance, and accompanying glittering state dinner," CNN writes.

Trump made history by being the first president in nearly a century to not host a state dinner in his first year in office. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there was not one "singular reason" behind the decision. Trump, for his part, pooh-poohed state dinners on the campaign trail, The Hill reports, telling supporters that he would not throw Chinese President Xi Jinping a dinner: "I would get him a McDonald's hamburger and say we've got to get down to work," Trump suggested instead.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.